Education `must go beyond' vocational

Irish higher education must move beyond vocational training for industry to teach the creativity, discernment and strategic thinking which were once the core tenets of a liberal education, the head of one of Ireland's most successful software companies has said.

Mr Chris Horn, chairman and chief executive IONA Technologies, was addressing a business seminar organised by the National University of Ireland, Maynooth - formerly St Patrick's College - to mark its launch as Ireland's newest university.

He said that "for several years Ireland has successfully capitalised on the global developments which have created the Information Age. As multinational companies - leaders in their industries - invested here, our universities rushed to provide relevant training.

"Our students - lured by attractive job prospects - forsook traditional subject areas in favour of technology-related programmes. Now is the time to assess where this has brought us. Are we any more advanced? The reality is that we are still only following standards set elsewhere - for example in Silicon Valley. Even our own successful indigenous software industry is failing to break new ground; at its best it is filling niche gaps in the market."

Mr Horn went on: "We are missing a great opportunity here. Ireland should be looking to where the next quantum leap in industrial thinking will originate. We are ready for another revolution in the way we work and think about work. But original thinking - creativity - is required to be a leader, a standard setter.

"In the rush for relevance, vocational training for industry is threatening to displace the traditional liberal education. We need to teach our graduates the fundamental skills to equip them for tomorrow's workplace, not just today's."

"There are attributes for which demand endures across all business, regardless of change - creativity, entrepreneurship, strategic thinking, discernment, the ability to interpret data and fashion judgments."